# X_INDEX_ORDER_UNGUARDED

## Means

an ordering assertion built on `indexOf` with nothing asserting the needle is present

## Typical cause

`indexOf` answers `-1` for a needle it never found, and `-1` is less than every real index — so the assertion holds when the thing it orders is **not emitted at all**. Measured 2026-08-26: deleting a `drop constraint` emission from `moveKeysAside` left `packages/db/src/retype-keys.test.ts` GREEN, and a sweep then found 24 more across 11 packages. Which operand is at risk is not symmetric and that is the whole rule — `X.toBeLessThan(Y)` is passed by a phantom `-1` in **X**, `X.toBeGreaterThan(Y)` by one in **Y**; a `-1` on the safe side fails loudly and is never reported

## Fix

`bun run index-of-order --json` — assert presence first (`expect(<haystack>).toContain(<needle>)`, or `expect(<index>).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0)`), then compare. Prove it by deleting what the assertion orders and watching the test go red

[CLI and verify](/error-codes#cli-and-verify)